Hi, my name is Oscar, I hold a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Aalborg University and an M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management from DTU. I am part of Demant’s Global Operations Graduate Programme from the 2024 batch and over the past year I have had the opportunity to live and work abroad both in the United States and in Poland as part of my two rotations. In the following post, I will share some of my reflections from living abroad in two different countries in the last 10 months, both from a professional and personal perspective, and give some insight into what my graduate journey at Demant looks like so far.
Starting Early – and Heading West
As I graduated in February 2024, I was offered the chance to begin my rotation earlier to support the implementation of a new ERP system in North America. It was an exciting opportunity to gain first-hand experience in a large-scale transformation project and was simply an offer I could not decline. I joined the programme back in April 2024, having the first six months in the Global Planning department at the headquarters near Copenhagen. The purpose of this rotation was to get to know the Demant organization and the Supply Chain in Demant before moving to the US.
On October 1st, 2024, I moved to the US and spent the next six months working out of our office in Somerset, New Jersey, while living in Jersey City. My main focus was supporting the ERP implementation within the Supply Chain track by mapping and documenting business processes so they could be configured in the new ERP system. This required a solid understanding of existing ways of working, while also making sure that both local and global needs were taken into account in the best possible way. In many ways, I acted as a bridge between the North American team and the Global team, helping to support communication and drive alignment around process changes and improvements.
In addition, I assisted the project and program managers within the ERP project with maintaining and following up on project plans, tracking overall progress, and keeping momentum across initiatives.
I also supported a variety of ad-hoc assignments that gave me important insight into how the US market operates and what challenges and expectations exist in our largest commercial region.
From New York to Northwestern Poland
While the initial plan was to return to Denmark for my next 6 months rotation in April 2025, I was offered a unique opportunity to continue my journey abroad and have a rotation at our main production and distribution site in Szczecin, Poland. This was my chance to experience another very important site of Demant, which I gladly accepted.
At our site in Szczecin, I am involved in two main areas. I am leading a project aimed at optimizing capacity in the distribution center by evaluating the layout, system settings, and workflows. As part of this, I am working with external suppliers to configure our systems in a way that supports the necessary process changes and to secure the capacity needed for the coming years.
In parallel, I support our NPI (New Product Introduction) Infrastructure team and our Automation team with an automation project, mapping system requirements, and flows for future machinery.
For both projects, I am working on a very detailed process level to understand the impact of changes, while also collaborating closely with operators, engineers, and team leaders to ensure the processes are as efficient as possible. At the same time, I am evaluating the cost implications of the proposed process changes to ensure they are cost-efficient and contribute to a strong business case.
Working closely together with technical skilled and experienced people as engineers, managers, and operators in these projects has shown me the value of combining technical insight with a broader business understanding. My engineering background has helped me engage in technical discussions, understanding the data and breaking down challenges to smaller manageable tasks. On the other hand, my exposure to other departments have enabled me to connect the high level strategy and organizational priorities to ensure the changes are in line with the strategy and improving efficiency, reducing costs while not compromising with the quality.
What Two Rotations Abroad Have Taught Me
Overall, the two rotations abroad have given me the opportunity to work closely with local teams and understand how systems, processes, and people all connect, while also experiencing what it requires to implement changes in a dynamic and operational environment. I learned that being effective in such projects is not just about having technical knowledge, but also about listening, adapting, and building trust.
One of the biggest learnings in both rotations has been cultural differences between Denmark, US, and Poland. While working in the US, I experienced a highly verbal and fast-paced environment, where expectations are clearly communicated. In Poland, I have noticed a more structured and detail-oriented mindset, where processes are emphasized, and with language sometimes being a challenge. Luckily, I have some very helpful colleagues who help me translate when meetings are in Polish.
In both cases, adapting to the local environment has been essential. I have learned to adjust how I ask questions, present ideas, and build relationships depending on the culture. As a graduate, you are constantly joining new teams, and that requires you to be open, humble, and quick to observe how things work before you try to contribute.
Learning by Doing – and Saying Yes
What has stood out to me most during these two rotations abroad is how much learning happens simply by saying yes, even when you are unsure of what you say yes to. Whether supporting a complex ERP rollout, working on warehouse capacity optimization, or mapping technical production systems, each task has offered new insight, growth and ultimately giving me a better understanding of the end-to-end supply chain at Demant.
Being part of the Global Operations Graduate Programme is not about knowing everything in advance. On the contrary, it is about being curious, listening to those with deep knowledge, gradually learning and being able to contribute meaningfully. Even with limited background in supply chain, I have learned to navigate complex challenges by asking questions, observing processes, and seeking support from great colleagues and managers.
As you can probably tell by this post, I am incredibly grateful and happy for the opportunity to live and work abroad. This has brought me a ton of professional and personal development and introduced me to a lot of great colleagues. Joining the graduate program at Demant, being curious, and taking on the challenges is something I can only recommend! I will at least continue to do so for my next rotations and afterwards!
If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out either on LinkedIn or via Mail.
Oscar Sand Lyhne | LinkedIn
ossn@demant.com
